Valve means for oil-well swivels.



H. B. LINCOLN.

VALVE MEANS FOR OIL WELL SWIVELS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.27. 1916.

1,217,467. Patented Feb. 27,1917.

BESTAVAMBLE CGP lHUGH B .I.I1\iooL1v, or ELECTEA. TEXAS.'`

VALVE MEANS FOR OIL-WELL SWIVELS.

Specification f Letters Patentv Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application led December 2j, 1916. Serial No. 139,224.

To all whom 'it may concern .Be it known that I, HUGH B. LINCOLN,

a citizen of the United lS,tates,.residing at Electra, inthe county ofWichita ,and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Valve Meansfor Oil-iWell Swivels, `of which the following is a' specification.

j My invention relates to the art of drilling' oil wells, .andmore-particularly to the art of idrillingoil wells by the so-calledrotary sysiteni', in which a string of drill pipe carrying pif bitat itslower end is rotated in the' hole [by suitable power driven means. Inthis stenig'a mud laden uid i's pumped downi'zwardlv through-'the drillpipe, emerging `.through suitable holes in the bit at the bottom of thehole, and serving to retain the ffiwalls'of the well and hydrostaticallybal- `ance any pressures existing in the well..

' 'It common practice 1n the art of drill fing to wholly or partiallysupport the up- 'per end of the'string of drill pipe 1n a -wiveL thisswivel being supplied with :der through a-.iexible pipe. -The principalobject of my invention is to provide valve means which are incorporatedin the swivel for the purpose of expedi'ting and simplifying thedrilling ofl wells', a's will be hereinafter explained.

drawings,

In' the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only: v 'v Figure1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a -portionof theapparatus used .in the rotary system. ,l

. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of agoo'se-neck,such ,as is employed in the swivel in such a system. ,.Fig. 3 is a planview of the goose-neck shown in Fig. 2. p "-il-Inthe form of theinvention illustrated in an oil well 11 is shown in being drilled, aderrick 13 being built over the well, this derrick having a floor 14onwhich is placed a rotary 'table 1.5 which is driven by suitable powermeans. not shown. h

"5" I through the rotary table 15 is the i nt a string of drill pipe 16which :suitable bit 17 at its lower end, this provided with perforations18 i .vhichthe mud forced downwardly ,ne drill pipe 16 may be forcedinto the process of me methods of using the rotary systable l5 isprovided with .grips rh siamo directly upon' the drillpipe.

. holes 34, normally Y In'other fo'rnis of' the systemia square o'rgroove stem is uscdon the upper end of the drill pipe, and my inventionis applicable toeither method of drilling. In eitherfcase, a swivel 201s secured tothe upper end of the pipe. this swivel being supported bya` bail 21 from 'a hook 22,*the hook 22 being secured by means of a'bail- 23 to suitable hoisting cables and hoisting apparatus, not

is a goose-neck 21, this goose-neck being se.-

.curedvx to a stationary pipe 25 which pro- Vis connected to thepressure side of a mud pump 28, the mud pump drawing mud ladenv fluidthrough a pipe 29 from a small well or sump 30, into which the lnudrising in the well overflows. A relief valve 31 is provided on the lowerend of the stand-pipe '27. The goose-neck 24 is provided with a check"valve, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper limb -of the goose-neck Qi beingtapped, as show n sov shown. Secured on the top of the swivel 20 at 32,and having a plug 33 screwed therein.

The plug 33 is provided with a plurality of closed by a valve 35, thisvalve sliding on a stem 36 formed in the plug 33, and being held on its'seat by a spring 37, the other end of which abuts on a diaphragm 38.The diaphragm 38 has a hole 39 in the center thereof somewhat largerthan the stem 36.

The method of operation of the invention is as follows:

T hepipe- 16. is rotated by the table 15 by means of the grips 19. aportion of the weight of the pipe being carried on the swivel 2.0. Mudladen fluid is supplied to the upper end of the pipe through theflexible- .hose 26 and the stand-pipe 27 fromthe mud pump 28, this -mudladen fiuid passing down-ll wardly through the pipe 16, outwardlythrough the openings 18 and upwardly through the well 11, 'andoveriiowing into the sump 30, from which it is taken by the suction pipeinto the pump 28. The pressure requiredto circulate mud laden fiuid maybe considerable, and this pressure acts in conjunction with the. spring37 to hold the valve35 firmly on'its seat, thus closing 'the openings34.

Whenever it is fi# BEST/WAILABLE @Op tions of the n"dr-illy pipe donefrequetljf for theqpurpose of removing bits; or adding sections to the.string 'of pipe, i considerable inconvenience:results from the'ordinal-57 methods of drillingin which no check 'valve 35 is provided.The water con'- tained in the upper sections of the drill pipe 16 andthe `Hem-ble hosev tendsto remain in these sections, as there 1s nomeans. of

letting- -air into the to J of the 3i )e to dis-v e l l place the water,and tlus water remalns'm' the pipee until al.; secondopening,isjmade bybreaking'-:another joint, at -which time it Comesv oli-ballet once,flooding. the-floor of the derrrckland greatlymcreasmg the hazardsofloperating,ecspeeially in very coldremain opeirto ,admit-air .,intdthegooseneel( 24. when a partial. Vacurun `is. formed therein, 55:0 :thatwaten lsreadily drained from the c lrilhpipe l'vvand the' exi'ble-hose2G and stand-pipe 2,b y. openingthe Valve- 31, .the water in theleXiblehose QGdand stand-pipe- .27 A flowing i outwardly through th'efvalve3l,land the-water lin theI drill' pipe lffalling to the level (ii-thewaterin the.

By ltheajlse of my inrentionthere isno i danger of'wate'r beingitrappedinfthe upper portionsof the apparatus, and practically nowaterinds its 'ay to theI floor of the.

'derricle A Iclaim asiny invention:

.\ il.l In Combination; a .string of drillpipe;

swivel means for supporting the .upper end Aofsaid pipe; a flexiblehosefor supph-'ing mud ladenfiuid under pressure to the upper end ofsaid pipe; means for Connecting said` flexible hose to Said pipeaud afch'eekiralre which are in open Cconnection `\\'ith"'a"string yof drillpipefand haring its other' limb'f'f i :formed to connect t-h'rouglra vflexible hose with a muclpump 'anda check lvalve. insaidv goosefneckfsoarranged as todmitair to -gthein'terior of said goose-ueekfonly `when ajpartial ra-cu'uin isfor-mel in said goose-mech7 f l 55% 'my'. hand-iatLos Angeles," California"5 this* v lIn.testimony whereof,`II-hare'he'relmto set 16th day offDecelnber,'1916. 1-

Hoei-1B.. LiNe'oLN.'

